saintsfc.co.uk provides ten facts about Southampton's next opponents in the Barclays Premier League, West Bromwich Albion.
1 – West Bromwich Albion have been champions of England once, in 1919/20. Albion finished nine points clear of second-placed Burnley and 11 points clear of Chelsea, who ended the campaign in third.
2 – West Brom are one of the most successful clubs in the FA Cup. The Baggies have won the competition on five occasions, with their last success coming in 1968.
3 – Although known in their early days as “the Throstles”, the club’s more popular nickname among supporters came to be the Baggies.
4 – At an altitude of 551 feet above sea level, the Hawthorns is the highest of all 92 Premier League and Football League grounds.
5 – Albion’s current ground, the Hawthorns, was named after the hawthorn bushes that covered the area and were cleared to make way for the stadium.
6 – West Brom adopted an all-red away strip towards the end of the 1950s, but after defeat to Queens Park Rangers in the 1967 League Cup Final, it changed to an all-white kit.
7 – The club was founded as West Bromwich Strollers in 1878 but they were renamed in 1880, becoming the first team to adopt “Albion” in their name.
8 – After turning professional, West Brom reached the FA Cup final in 1886, 1887 and 1888, losing the first two before beating Preston North End to win it for the first time.
9 – The 2004/05 season saw West Brom become the first team in the Premier League to avoid relegation having been bottom of the table at Christmas.
10 – West Brom are the only club to have survived relegation when heading into the final game of the season bottom of the Premier League table, again in the 2004/05 season.
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